CHENNAI: The Association of Tamil Nadu Highway Engineers has urged the state government to revoke the suspension of an assistant engineer (AE) and an assistant divisional engineer (ADE) over the display of Hindi alongside Tamil and English on a highway direction sign.
In a statement on Sunday, the association said the suspension required reconsideration as, according to its understanding, there was no evidence to establish that the two engineers had deliberately violated the government’s two-language policy or had instructed, approved, measured or certified the disputed signboard.
The association referred to IRC:67-2022, the code dealing with road signs, and said Clause 16.3.2.5 contemplates direction signs carrying more than two languages and refers to English, Hindi and regional-language fonts. It said the code is applicable to roads open to public travel, including state highways, and is intended to provide clear and timely information to road users and promote road safety.
The association stressed that, in its view, the technical provisions of IRC:67-2022 did not override Tamil Nadu’s two-language policy, which it said it fully respected. It argued, however, that the technical provisions applicable to the particular work should also be considered before individual responsibility was fixed on field engineers.
According to the association, the disputed signboard was not measured, recorded, certified or passed for payment by either the AE or ADE. It further claimed that neither engineer had instructed or approved the contractor to provide the Hindi lettering.
The association said the mere erection of a signboard by a contractor within an engineer’s jurisdiction could not, by itself, establish misconduct or personal responsibility on the part of the engineer. It called for the records relating to the contractor’s instructions, execution, inspection, approval, measurement and certification to be examined before responsibility was fixed.
The association said the work had been executed through the National Highways Wing under CRIF funding and that the contractor had previous experience in National Highway and NHAI works. It said this raised the possibility that the contractor had independently adopted a multilingual sign layout based on its previous experience, which it said should be verified from the official records.
It also said the additional lettering could be removed or rectified without causing structural damage to the road or permanently affecting road safety. The association argued that the nature and gravity of the alleged lapse should therefore be assessed objectively and proportionately.
The association urged the government to review and revoke the suspension, examine the matter with reference to IRC:67-2022, the sanctioned estimate, agreement conditions and applicable government instructions, and verify whether the two engineers had actually instructed, approved, measured or certified the disputed signboard.
It also sought an examination of the contractor’s role and the complete execution records, and said individual responsibility should be fixed only on the basis of established facts and due process.
The association reiterated its support for the state’s two-language policy but said disciplinary action against engineers should be based on established individual responsibility, documentary evidence, applicable technical provisions and principles of natural justice.